PRESS RELEASE
Space Out Summer
The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission with a summer filled with flight and space-themed exhibits, workshops, demonstrations, installations and a new film. The season kicks off on May 17 with Apollo 11: First Steps Edition, a film with never-before-seen footage and audio recordings of the historic mission. Other highlights include NYSCI’s summer exhibition, Above and Beyond – The Ultimate Flight Exhibition, and Apollo, A Party!, an evening event celebrating the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
NYSCI is excited to have the excuse of the Apollo 11 anniversary to celebrate past and present space exploration,” said Liz Slagus, Director of Public Programs and Residencies at NYSCI. “Achievements in terms of technologies, research and brave first steps will be on display with a full program of exhibitions, experiences, hands-on activities, screenings and events. Please join our summer-long party!
SUMMER PROGRAMMING
Apollo 11: First Steps Edition
May 17 – June 14, 2019; Daily, 2 pm
June 15, 2019 – January 21, 2020; Daily, 3 pm
Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of NASA’s celebrated Apollo 11 mission, Apollo 11: First Steps Edition showcases the real-life moments of the first lunar landing. With never-before-seen footage and newly discovered audio recordings, the filmmakers reconstruct the exhilarating final moments of preparation, liftoff, landing and return of this historic 1969 mission – one of humanity’s greatest achievements and the first to put men on the moon. Apollo 11: First Steps Edition is directed by Todd Douglas Miller, produced by Statement Pictures in partnership with CNN Films, and presented by Land Rover and Samsung.
The film is distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films. 20 minutes.
$6 adults, $5 children, students and senior citizens, plus NYSCI admission.
Above and Beyond – The Ultimate Flight Exhibition
June 1 – September 8, 2019
NYSCI’s summer exhibition uses flight simulation, augmented reality, touch-tables, design and skill challenges, virtual reality and more to immerse visitors in the wonders of flight, space travel and aerospace innovation, design and technology. Exhibits include a 180-degree immersive theater presentation, a high-tech media-rich historical timeline, a simulated space elevator ride, a challenge to design and test a supersonic fighter jet in a virtual high-speed flying competition, and an avator-based motion-capture group experience that demonstrates flight like a bird.
Above and Beyond is presented by Boeing and produced by Evergreen Exhibitions in collaboration with NASA and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
$4 per person, plus NYSCI admission. (Members: free)
Pick It Up: Space Edition
June 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 & 30, 2019; 10 am – 5:45 pm
July 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 & 28, 2019; 10 am – 5:45 pm
Visitors design a grabber to collect space rocks.
Free with NYSCI admission.
Shadow Stories
June 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 & 30, 2019; 10 am – 5:45 pm
Kids use shadows to tell stories about flight and space.
Free with NYSCI admission.
Scroll Saw Gliders
Fridays, June 14 – September 6, 2019 (no workshop on July 26); 2 – 4:30 pm
Working from templates or their own designs, visitors will use a power tool called a scroll saw to cut, assemble and test customized gliders.
Recommended for ages 7 and older. Free with NYSCI admission.
Origami Airplanes
Fridays, June 14 – September 6, 2019 (no workshop on July 26); 2 – 4:30 pm
Visitors will learn different techniques to make paper airplanes. They’ll contribute to a collaborative paper airplane origami sculpture. Plus, they’ll also get to take some of their airplanes home!
Recommended for ages 7 and older. Free with NYSCI admission.
Ziplines
July 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 & 28, 2019; 10 am – 5:45 pm
Visitors design aerodynamic objects that can move across the room via ziplines.
Free with NYSCI admission.
Imaging Women in the Space Age
July 13 – November 3, 2019
This exhibition includes vintage and current images from fashion, television, film, animation, video games and pop culture (e.g. Barbie astronaut dolls), as well as new developments in space-inspired fashion (space gear/spacesuits for women).
Curated by Julie Wosk. Free with NYSCI admission.
Escape the Planet!
July 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28, 2019; noon – 4 pm
A 15-minute space adventure created by artist Andrew Scoville and scientist Moiya McTier. Escape the Planet! was created as part of NYSCI’s ACCESS 2018: Space Exploration project, which paired artists and scientists to create museum experiences around a theme of space exploration.
Free with NYSCI admission.
Apollo, A Party!
July 20, 2019; 7 – 10 pm
Join NYSCI in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing at this late-night family affair. Visitors can enjoy space-themed music, drinks, treats, solar observations and stargazing with members of the Amateur Astronomers Association of NY, a DIY solar charger workshop (extra fee required), as well as interactive projects and performances created by artist and scientist collaborations focused on space exploration. Also included is a special screening of Apollo 11: First Steps Edition and access to NYSCI’s summer exhibition Above and Beyond – The Ultimate Flight Exhibition.
Free with NYSCI admission.
Astronomy Discovery Lab (Ages 8 – 9)
July 22 – 26, 2019, 9 am – 3 pm
Children will reach for the stars in this weeklong camp, where they’ll learn about astronomy, observe constellations in the museum’s Stellarium, and make their own telescopes. They will also conduct experiments to discover what conditions are necessary for life to survive on other planets, or how life might adapt to conditions that are hostile to mankind. Camp includes interactive activities, exhibit exploration, a student certificate of completion and a free six-month student membership.
$400 per child ($375 for NYSCI members), includes a mid-morning snack. Preregistration required.
Dropped Calls: Space Edition
August 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25 & 31, 2019; 10 am – 5:45 pm
Visitors engineer a way to safely drop a sensor pack from 15 feet in the air.
Free with NYSCI admission.
Air-Powered Vehicles
August 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25 & 31, 2019; 10 am – 5:45 pm
Visitors design a vehicle to travel across terrains from around the world.
Free with NYSCI admission.
Planet Exploration
August 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25 & 31, 2019; 10 am – 5:45 pm
Visitors design items to either survive, explore or collect data on a planet that has different parameters than Earth.
Free with NYSCI admission.
SPACE-THEMED PERMANENT OFFERINGS
Open weather permitting, during museum hours
These vehicles were state-of-the-art space exploring machines at the time of the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair, which was held on the site of NYSCI. Back then, the space age was less than ten years old, Neil Armstrong had not yet set foot on the Moon, and the Space Shuttle was barely a dream, but these machines powered incredible missions to explore outer space and send a human to the Moon. Free with NYSCI admission.
Exhibits include:
- Mercury-Atlas D Rocket – The Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile was the largest available rocket for the Mercury program, which was designed to put a human into orbit at the earliest possible date. The relatively small payload of the Atlas dictated cramped quarters for the Mercury capsule. Unlike most liquid propellant rockets, Atlas is not a hollow tube with interior tanks. The outside is the tank, making Atlas literally a flying tank with engines.
- Gemini Titan II – Titan II was a second-generation intercontinental ballistic missile with 2.5 times the payload of the Atlas, making it ideal for the two-person Gemini spacecraft. Unlike Atlas, which had to be filled with super-cold liquid oxygen just prior to launch, Titan II could be fired at a moment’s notice thanks to room-temperature propellants.
- Mercury Capsule – Suspended from the ceiling of NYSCI’s Central Pavilion, NYSCI’s Mercury Capsule lets visitors see a version of the very first U.S. spacecraft built. NYSCI’s capsule flew once in May 1960 on a mission to test the escape tower – a large ladder like structure on the top of the capsule. On the test flight, it was rocketed more than 2,500 feet into the air and floated back down to the ocean with a parachute. The unmanned test proved that an astronaut could survive inside this capsule.
- Mercury-Atlas D “Friendship 7” Replica Capsule – This full-size replica of the Mercury capsule shows the cramped quarters occupied by America’s first astronauts. Weighing 3,000 pounds, the capsule had all the systems needed to sustain one person in space for up to a day and a half. Equipment included a seat contoured to the astronaut’s individual shape, thrusters to permit maneuvering in space, and a protective heat shield that burned away during the capsule’s reentry. Six Mercury missions flew between 1961-63. This replica is painted to resemble Friendship 7, which on February 20, 1962, carried John Glenn on the first Earth-orbiting mission for an American.
- Saturn V F-1 Engine – Visitors can walk underneath of the most powerful rocket engine ever built. A single F-1 Engine produced as much thrust as all three Space Shuttle main engines combined. Five of these enormous engines propelled the first stage of the Saturn 5 rocket during the initial two-and-a-half minutes of an Apollo flight to the moon.
Search for Life Beyond Earth
Open daily, during museum hours
This exhibition includes an array of interactive stories that invites visitors to move from one extreme Earth environment to the next as they explore each environment’s unique characteristics and discover one or more organisms that live there. A final link between understanding life on Earth and searching for life beyond may come from remote exploration within the solar system. Such exploration in space has revealed locations that may be quite similar to extreme environments here on Earth, with liquid water and the potential for life. Displays include “Will We Find Life on Mars?”, “Will We Find Life on Europa?”, “Will We Find Life Beyond Our Solar System?”, “To Find Life, Look for Water”, and more. Visitors can also interact with a replica of the Mars Rover, created by Beatty Robotics.
Science Demonstration: Flight
Monday – Friday, 11:30 am; Weekends & Holidays, 12:30 pm
NYSCI Explainers demonstrate what makes hot air balloons, blimps, airplanes and rockets defy the laws of gravity in this interactive, 15-minute demonstration that ends with a bang. Free with NYSCI admission.
About The New York Hall of Science
The mission of the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) is to nurture generations of passionate learners, critical thinkers and active citizens through an approach called Design, Make, Play. Design, Make, Play emphasizes open-ended exploration, imaginative learning and personal relevance, resulting in deep engagement and delight in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. NYSCI was founded at the 1964-65 World’s Fair and has evolved into New York’s center for interactive science.
For more information, visit nysci.org or call 718-699-0005.
Follow NYSCI on Twitter and Instagram: @nysci, and on Facebook at: facebook.com/nysci.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Mary Record, New York Hall of Science
mrecord@nysci.org
718-595-9123
